KN Applauded; Freddie Critiqued

Mar 18, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
I applaud Kaieteur News for some terrific editorials but also to chide the newspaper for some poor editing especially as they relate to commentaries by Freddie Kissoon.
Over the last two years, I recognise that the quality of Kaieteur News editorials has vastly improved and in fact most have been excellent. Some of them are quite comprehensive and laudable. I enjoyed reading them almost daily.
The points in the editorials are succinct as well as lucid. They educate and inform readers on so many important issues. They are well written and arguments well presented. One can hardly find faults with the positions and views of the paper’s editorials. It speaks volumes about the quality of editors on staff.
However, the outstanding quality of the editorials is not carried forward in the editing department of the paper, especially in editing the columns of Freddie Kissoon, your daily columnist. Freddie often makes claims in his columns that are not supported by facts or common sense and the editor allows these claims and or glib comments to be published.
For example, Freddie penned: “Bisram would turn up in Guyana with a survey, hand it to David DeCaires and it gets printed” (KN Mar 7). This statement is a distortion of the facts. It is a gross misrepresentation of the professional nature of the relationship between the late DeCaires and myself.
On what basis did Freddie make such an unjustified claim? Was he present (an eyewitness) when Vishnu Bisram met with DeCaires?
Kissoon used a declarative tone to make his false claim. He did not use words such as “as maybe, could be, probably, possibly” in describing how the survey was published. He was emphatic in his pronunciation as though he was an authority on the relationship between DeCaires and myself. It boggles my mind how KN editors could allow this statement to be published, knowing the professional DeCaires was. DeCaires did not publish commentaries or polls unless they could be subjected to verification. I seriously doubt DeCaires would have published a similar statement (as Freddie’s) about another editor or publisher unless he verified the information with him or her. That was the hallmark of DeCaires’ professionalism.
The editing of Freddie’s columns leaves much to be desired. There are glaring errors that are noticeable even to the layman. There is a need for more thoughtful perusing and “proofreading” of Freddie’s writings. His columns lack professionalism and sophistication of a regular daily columnist. I read dozens of columns in the international media daily. No columnist engages in a daily attack against others. They behave professionally.
KN should not allow Freddie to descend into the gutter to attack people. Moreover, Freddie should not comment on topics of which he is not an expert. His claims and interpretations of other peoples’ views are distracting and disconcerting to the intellectual minded. May I suggest that KN consult an expert on the controversial topics Kissoon writes about to ascertain the “truthfulness of his claims or interpretation of theories and views of others” before publishing them?
Vishnu Bisram

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